Apparatus for relining a bof vessel tap hole

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for relining the tap hole of a BOF vessel with refractory material after it has been worn or eroded away.

United States Patent Riley 1451 Sept. 3, 1974 APPARATUS FOR RELINING A BOF [56] References Cited VESSEL TAP HOLE UNITED STATES PATENTS [75] Inventor: Lawrence Raymond Riley, Palos 1,363,912 12/1920 Pauly 425/96 Park, 111. 3,122,813 3/1964 Demaison 264/30 X 3,396,961 8/1968 Farrington 264/30 x Asslgneel cqmbustlon Englneel'mg Inc-5 3,458,607 7 1969 Sullivan et al. 266/42'X Wmdsor, Conn- 3,563,523 2/1971 Wenot 266/42 [22] Filed: July 5, 1973 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser [21] Appl- 376,637 Assistant ExaminerDavid B. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert L. Olson [52] U.S. Cl 425/449, 264/30, 266/42,

425/96, 425/110 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl C2lb 7/12 A 5 pparatus for relmmg the tap hole of a BOF vessel [58] Field of Search 425/449, 447, 96, 110, with refractory material after it has been worn or 425/127, 129; 264/30; 266/42; 29/401, eroded away 527.1, 527.2

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED $5 31 74 SHEEI'ZUF 3 PATENIEDSEP 31974 sum aor 3 APPARATUS FOR RELINING A BOF VESSEL TAP HOLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, much of the steel has been produced in BOF vessels. These are metal vessels having a thick coating of refractory on their inner surfaces to withstand the intense heat of the molten steel contained therein. After each melt, the molten steel is poured from the vessel through a tap hole. Since a pour is made many times each day, the refractory surrounding the tap hole is quickly worn or eroded away, and must be replaced more often than the rest of the refractory lining the interior of the BOF vessel. It is desirable to reline the tap hole as quickly as possible, so that the downtime of the vessel is kept to a minimum. Because of the large amount of heat retained within the vessel after a pour has been made, it is difficult to reline a tap hole efficiently and do a sufficiently proper repair job that will last for a good many subsequent heats.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the invention for relining a tap hole of a BOF vessel with refractory material includes a clamping arrangement for aligning and sealingly securing the equipment to the outer end of a tap hole. It further includes an umbrella-type member which in a closed position is small enough to be inserted through the tap hole into the interior of the vessel. Upon opening, it seals off the tap hole from the inside, and acts as a backing means for the refractory slurry which is forced into the tap hole to repair it. A nozzle is extended into the vessel through which water can be sprayed in the vicinity of the umbrella-like member to prevent it from being overheated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the apparatus of the invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Looking now to FIG. 1, numeral designates the apparatus in its entirety, for boring and relining the tap hole 12 of a BOF vessel 14 with refractory material. The apparatus is mounted on a wheeled carriage or truck 16 which rides on tracks 18 for bringing the apparatus up to the tap hole 12. Hydraulic actuator 19 is used for raising and lowering bed 20, so as to bring ei ther the boring tool 22 or the relining equipment 24 into alignment with the tap hole 12. Bed is secured to the carriage by means of a plurality of pivotally connected links or arms 25.

The boring tool 22 is mounted on the end of a shaft 26, which is driven longitudinally and rotatably by motor 28. The rotary motion of the tool removes slag accumulations in tap hole 12. A facing tool 29 comes into contact with the outer face of the flange of tap hole 12 when the boring tool 22 is fully extended, as shown in broken lines on FIG. 1, so as to clean off this surface.

After the boring and refacing operation is completed, the bed 20 is lowered, to bring the refractory relining equipment into alignment with tap hole 12, as shown in FIG. 2.

Now looking to FIGS. 3 and 4, the details of the relining apparatus can be better seen. Clamps 32 are hydraulically actuated by piston-cylinder members 34 into engagement with flange 36 of the tap hole 12 (FIG. 4). An annular resilient seal member 38 is spring biased by means of springs 40, to form an effective seal between the outer surface of the tap hole 12 and the end of the cylindrical housing 42. A plurality of these springs 40 are equally spaced around the entire periphery of the housing 42.

Located within the housing 42 is a cylinder or sleeve 44. Air is introduced into the chambers to the right of pistons 46, moving the pistons 46 and attached piston rods 48 to the left. Attached to the rods 48 at their other ends is a plate 50 (FIG. 7) which acts through central member 52 to move cylinder 44 to the left, or into the interior of the vessel 14. The inner end of cylinder 44 has an umbrella-like device 49 attached thereto. The device 49 is actuated between its opened and closed positions by longitudinal movement of inner sleeve 51. This sleeve is moved to the left by energizing air motor 53, which turns the spur gears 54 and 56. A thread 58 inside of gear 56 advances the threaded tube 60, forcing the inner sleeve 51 forward towards the vessel interior. Sleeve 51 is fastened to a piston 62 which causes connecting links 64 to spread the ribs 66, thus I opening the web plates 68 to form a disc at a point about three inches beyond-the inside face of the BOF lining. Water is supplied to nozzle 41 during the entire relining operation through duct 43. This cools the equipment, preventing overheating and damages.

Immediately after opening the umbrella, compressed air at reduced pressure is delivered to the chambers to the left of pistons 46, drawing the umbrella back against the BOF refractory lining. The brake air cylinder 70 is then energized, forcing the brake shoe teeth 72 into engagement with teeth on the stationary guide rods 74, locking the sleeve 51 so it can withstand the ram pressure when the refractory is forced into the tap hole.

Air cylinders 76 are then actuated by supplying air to the chambers to the right of pistons 80 moving piston rods 78, plate 82, sleeve 84, and the ram 86 to the left. This forces the refractory slurry 88 into the tap hole cavity 90. The refractory 88 can initially be placed in the machine in an air-tight packaged form, the package being made of plastic or other suitable material, so that it .does not start setting up or hardening prematurely. This plastic package is broken by the pressure exerted by ram 86. A thin cardboard liner 92 is located in the inner cylindrical surface of the refractory also, to allow the packages of refractory material to maintain their shape prior to loading into the relining machine. This cardboard liner also allows easier removal of cylinder 44 after the relining is completed.

Now looking to FIGS. 5 and 6, the details of the umbrella-like device 49 are shown in more detail. The device is made up of a number of web plates 68 which are interconnected by hinges 94 and 96. Each web is pivot ally secured to the end of cylinder 44 by a pin 98 ('FlG. 3). An integral extension or rib 66 of each web 68 is pivotally connected to piston 62 by means of a link 64. Thus movement of piston 62 inwardly of vessel 14 causes the webs to move from their closed position shown in FIG. 5, to their open position illustrated in FIG. 6. After the relining operation is completed, the umbrella is closed and the relining equipment is removed from the tap hole.

The umbrella end of cylinder 44 and sleeve 51 are connected to the main portion of the cylinders 44 and 51 by means of frangible pins 100 and 102, respectively (FIGS. 3 and 4). Thus if the umbrella should, after a number of uses, become jammed or warped and refuse to close, it can be easily jettisoned and left in the vessel in order to permit removal of the rest of the relining equipment. 7

What is claimed is: 1

1. Apparatus for relining a tap hole of a vessel with refractory material, said apparatus including a cylindrical housing, means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole, a retractable cylindrical member positioned within the housing having an end which can be extended into the interior of the vessel, the space between the housing and the cylindrical member being filled with fluid refractory material, said retractable member having an umbrella-type vaned member attached thereto which in a first closed position can pass through the tap hole of the vessel, and'in a second open position can engage the interior surface of the vessel surrounding the tap hole, thereby sealing such opening, means for moving the umbrella-type vaned member between its open and closed positions, and means for forcing the fluid refractory material into the tap hole, thus relining it.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, including pipe means positioned within the retractable cylindrical member having a nozzle located on its inner end, through which water can be sprayedwithin the vessel adjacent the umbrella-type vaned member when it is in its open position.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole includes clamping members adapted to engage a flange on the outer end of the tap hole.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the umbrella-type vaned member is secured to said retractable member by frangible means.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4, wherein the means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole includes an annular sealing member surrounding the end of the housing which is secured to the outer end of the tap hole, and spring means for resiliently forcing such annular sealing member into engagement with the surface surrounding the outer end of the tap hole. 

1. Apparatus for relining a tap hole of a vessel with refractory material, said apparatus including a cylindrical housing, means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole, a retractable cylindrical member positioned within the housing having an end which can be extended into the interior of the vessel, the space between the housing and the cylindrical member being filled with fluid refractory material, said retractable member having an umbrella-type vaned member attached thereto which in a first closed position can pass through the tap hole of the vessel, and in a second open position can engage the interior surface of the vessel surrounding the tap hole, thereby sealing such opening, means for moving the umbrella-type vaned member between its open and closed positions, and means for forcing the fluid refractory material into the tap hole, thus relining it.
 2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, including pipe means positioned within the retractable cylindrical member having a nozzle located on its inner end, through which water can be sprayed within the vessel adjacent the umbrella-type vaned member when it is in its open position.
 3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole includes clamping members adapted to engage a flange on the outer end of the tap hole.
 4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the umbrella-type vaned member is secured to said retractable member by frangible means.
 5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4, wherein the means for securing the housing to the outer end of the tap hole includes an annular sealing member surrounding the end of the housing which is secured to the outer end of the tap hole, and spring means for resiliently forcing such annular sealing member into engagement with the surface surrounding the outer end of the tap hole. 